A "Warm Home" Celebration for Rosh Hashana

The following story was written by Koby, a JDC Jewish Service Corps volunteer currently working in Belarus. He participated in a Rosh Hashana dinner celebration with Belarussian families at a "Warm Home".

We were the first guests to arrive. The round Challahs were still steaming, their crust a shiny golden brown and a fresh tablecloth had just been laid out. Plates soon appeared from the living room cabinets and the youngest grandchild, Polina, was drafted to bring more forks from the kitchen upstairs. Three generations live under one roof, the children and grandchild upstairs and the grandparents on the ground floor. Outside the fire from the Shashleek, a Belarussian tradition similar to the American BBQ, was still burning in the backyard and the dog was pacing around awaiting the next arrival.

It was a "Warm Home" in all senses of the word. Several families, twelve people in all, gathered together this past Tuesday evening at the Rakovitch home to celebrate Rosh Hashana. The three daughters present said the blessing on the candles, the Family Club coordinator, Irena, would bless the Challah and I was asked to say Kiddush. For the occasion, the family produced two bottles of kosher grape juice, a rare commodity in this country. Apples and honey, dates and a fish head – all symbols of our hopes for the New Year – lined the table along with other local dishes.

The families are members of the "Keshet" Family Club at the Minsk Jewish Campus (MJC). They gather regularly at MJC to celebrate holidays and learn about Jewish tradition. On Sunday, the second day of Rosh Hashana, about 40 people, parents and children, met for the holiday: singing, dancing, eating, and hearing the Shofar blasts. But Irena, a school psychologist until four years ago when she was asked to join the MJC staff, wanted to introduce the celebration into the home as well, recognizing the added benefit of the personal experience. For most of the participants this was the first time they marked the Jewish New Year outside of the Campus facility. The meal and celebration in this leafy and quaint corner of Minsk concluded with a toast for a healthy and happy New Year.